Mutualisation du Cosmodôme et Musée de la santé Armand-Frappier

Discipline : Architecture

Categories : Institutional, Civic & Education Building / Museum & Gallery : Silver certification

Categories : Special Award / Architecture + Ceiling : Silver certification

Categories : Special Award / Architecture + Color & Atmospheres : Silver certification

Context

In 2020, the City of Laval brought together two recreational and cultural organizations on a single site, serving a broad public ranging from preschoolers to adults: the Musée de la Santé Armand-Frappier, dedicated to health sciences and to celebrating the scientific achievements of Dr. Armand Frappier, and the Cosmodome, which has spent over twenty years fostering public interest in space exploration and careers in astronautics.

The relocation of the new museum to the Cosmodome site reflects the City of Laval's ambition to position itself as a leader in social and cultural development for youth. The consolidation aims to increase visitorship for both institutions and to establish a scientific education hub — pooling shared reception and service spaces while preserving the distinct thematic areas of each organization. Since the operations of both institutions could not be interrupted, a phasing plan was implemented to maintain public access to the facilities throughout construction.

Mandate

The intervention unfolds in two components: an upgrade of the main building services and a comprehensive redesign of the public reception areas. The entrance hall, the primary focus of the project, was reimagined to accommodate increased visitor flow and establish a new shared environment, including the ticketing area, gift shop, and 0–5 years play areas, immediately visible upon entry. The dining area and adjacent service zone were reconfigured to open a clear path towards the new Musée de la santé. Administrative offices were consolidated on the second floor; to compensate for the absence of windows and improve the quality of the work environment, a new generous skylight was introduced in the roof.

Architectural Identity

The entrance hall greatly benefits from an influx of natural light, through the central skylight and the transformation of the vestibule providing a more generous connection with the exterior. This shared hall brings together visitors from both institutions in a light-filled space, facilitating public orientation — toward the Cosmodome to the north, or toward the Musée de la santé Armand-Frappier to the south.

The main entrance thus becomes the common foyer of both institutions, organized along two axes radiating from the central cone beneath the skylight. The walls adopt a gently curved geometry, evoking both the gravitational relationship between a satellite and its planet, and that of an electron with its nucleus. This tension between the infinitely large and the infinitely small extends into the louvers that encircle the hall, where the Cosmodome's Milky Way interweaves with the Armand-Frappier Museum's astrocytes along the circulation axis. The two museums are thus united under a common and unifying theme, their conceptual elements brought together into a coherent whole.

The project in images